Bruins look forward to Blackhawks' return to Boston

The Bruins host the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night for the first time since last year's unforgettable Stanley Cup finals. The B's say they're more motivated by preparing for the upcoming playoffs than by the thought of avenging last year's stunning loss in Game 6.

WILMINGTON – The game won’t refresh happy memories, except for the visitors.

It won’t re-ignite harsh feelings, though, because no bad blood was spilled in the first place.

The Bruins host the Blackhawks tonight (7:05, NESN, WBZ-FM/98.5) for the first time since last June 24 when the ’Hawks stunned the TD Garden crowd with two goals in a 17-second span late in the third period of Game 6, then left the building with the Stanley Cup.

No Bruin really cares that a spectacular Cup finals came to a shockingly sudden conclusion in Game 6, a series that saw three games go to overtime and two more effectively decided by one goal. (The host Blackhawks sealed Game 5 with an empty-net goal.)

“It was a terrific game,” said Bruins center Carl Soderberg, whose Game 6 appearance was only his second of last year’s playoffs and eighth NHL game overall. “But I don’t know what else to say about it – we lost.”

Much has changed for both sides since Game 6. Nathan Horton, Tyler Seguin, Rich Peverley, Jaromir Jagr and Andrew Ference left the Bruins organization, while Chicago also parted with its share of participants – most notably David Bolland, who scored the Cup-clinching goal with 59 seconds left in regulation.

What hasn’t changed is the respect between the teams. Unlike the Bruins’ 2011 Cup finald against Vancouver, last year’s had no random acts of violence, no name-calling, no accusations, no feuds – just hockey, for the most part. Not that it wasn’t a physical, intense series: Patrice Bergeron (lung, rib, shoulder) was taken to hospitals twice, and Horton played with a shoulder damaged so badly, surgery to repair it cost him about half this season.

“I thought last year’s finals were really honest and well-fought,” said B’s goalie Tuukka Rask. “What happened on the ice stayed on the ice and the teams played tough. There were no hard feelings from our team or their team.”

“They play the game the right way and we like to think we do, as well,” said Bruins coach Claude Julien. “It makes for a good matchup; it makes for exciting hockey.”

The B’s, 3-2 losers in a shootout on Jan. 19 at Chicago, are excited that the Blackhawks are in town, although it doesn’t have much to do with last year’s Game 6 – or even with Monday’s 2-1, shootout loss to Montreal, which ended a 12-game winning streak. With 10 games left before the playoffs and a berth already clinched, the B’s want to face the best competition to stay sharp for the postseason. The ’Hawks, second in the Central Division, are fighting for home ice in a probable first-round series against Colorado, so they’re motivated.

Page 2 of 2 - “They play a different style and they’re the best at it,” said Milan Lucic, whose third-period goal in Game 6 gave the B’s a 2-1 lead which, until the fateful final 1 minute, 16 seconds, seemed destined to force Game 7.

“They’re able to play at a high level, a high pace, and that’s what you expect it to be (tonight). That’s what it was last year in the final and that’s what it was on Jan. 19 … a really high-paced, high intensity type of game.”

“We like challenges, games that are intense and have meaning,” Julien said. “Certainly, that one’s going to give us that.”

Julien doesn’t think Chicago’s last visit should give tonight’s matchup all that much more meaning, though.

“Nobody in the dressing room is going to forget we played them in the finals last year,” the coach said. “Nobody’s going to forget any of that stuff. But I think (tonight) is not about remembering that, more than knowing it’s going to be a good game against two good teams that we should look forward to.”

AROUND THE BOARDS

The B’s were heavily into community endeavors on Wednesday. First, they welcomed 9-year-old goalie Maddie Santosuosso of Topsfield, a cancer patient, onto the ice for the end of practice to fulfill a Make-A-Wish request, and then headed into Boston for the annual Cuts for a Cause event. Shawn Thornton, whose foundation is one of the event’s beneficiaries, said a record $105,000 had been raised before a single Bruin had his head buzzed for charity.

Mike Loftus may be reached at mloftus@ledger.com. On Twitter.com: @MLoftus_Ledger.